Preview: Georgia Tech at No. 7 Georgia

WHERE: Sanford Stadium

WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m

RECORDS: Georgia 9-2, Georgia Tech 7-4

TV/RADIO: ABC (Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, DJ Shockley); SiriusXM (84).

Georgia has a ticket to the SEC Championship in its back pocket, but if you think the Bulldogs are looking forward to the Dec. 7 game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, you’re completely crazy.

Friday night’s game against the Yellow Jackets isn’t just a game, it’s war and Kirby Smart made sure his Bulldogs understand what they’re getting into.

When discussing what his team can expect in what is expected to be a raucous atmosphere at Sanford Stadium, Smart used descriptions like “street fight” and explained that his Bulldogs would have to “look for contact” to win a game that would be good for Georgia’s chances after the Season is crucial.

But even if the playoffs weren’t part of the discussion, the importance of a win on Friday night wasn’t lost on the Bulldogs.

Georgia is seeking a seventh straight Governor’s Cup Trophy, with Tech’s last win in that series coming in 2016, Smart’s first year as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

The game on Friday evening should be interesting.

The Bulldogs may be 19.5 favorites, but Tech (7-4) has played well this year after beating No. 6 Miami a few weeks ago and appears to be fresh off the mark thanks to third-year head coach Brent Key Hard to play.

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets employ two quarterbacks – Haynes King and former Prince Avenue star and freshman Aaron Philo, who threw for 265 yards in last week’s win over North Carolina State.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are counting on a third straight solid game from Carson Beck, who appears to have found his rhythm again after a string of interceptions recently.

Beck has had zero picks in his last two ballgames and will look to continue that success against a Georgia Tech defense with five interceptions this year.

Georgia: QB Carson Beck, RB Nate Frazier, WR Arian Smith, TE Oscar Delp, WR Dom Lovett, C Jared Wilson, RG Tate Ratledge, DE Mykel Williams, N Nazir Stackhouse, LB Jalon Walker, LB CJ Allen, S Malaki Starks, CB Daylen Everette.

Georgia Tech: QB Haynes King, QB Aaron Philo, RB Jamal King, WR Malik Rutherford, WR Eric Singleton Jr., C Weston Franklin Jr., DE Sylvain Yondjoeun, N Zeek Biggers, Mike Kyle Efford, CB Warren Burrell, S LaMiles Brooks.

Take advantage of the atmosphere: Even though many students will be home for Thanksgiving, the atmosphere at Sanford Stadium should be great and it will be up to the Bulldogs to take advantage.

Win the line of scrimmage: Kirby Smart talked a lot about physicality this week and how this game would be a “street fight.” Well, it all starts up front on both sides of the ball.

Better stop the run: This is a must if you play Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are no longer using the option, but Haynes King is just as dangerous as a runner to a quarterback at all, and we’ve seen the Bulldogs struggle with running quarterbacks before.

RB Trevor Etienne (out)

RB Branson Robinson (questionable)

RB Roderick Robinson (questionable)

OL Earnest Greene III (questionable)

WR Dillon Bell (doubtful)

WR Anthony Evans III (questionable)

DL Christen Miller (doubtful)

DL Joseph Jonah-Ajonye (out)

…The Bulldogs are looking to retain the Governor’s Cup Trophy for the seventh consecutive year. The current winning streak in the series began in 2017, and the teams did not face each other during the 2020 season, when each played only one conference schedule. This season, Georgia is 5-0 at home, 2-2 in true away games and 2-0 at neutral venues.

…The No. 10 (CFP) Bulldogs have won a school-record 30 consecutive home games since 2019, the longest active streak in the FBS. After not playing a home game in over a month, the Bulldogs returned to Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium on November 16 and posted a 31-17 victory over No. 7 Tennessee.

…Georgia is seeking its fifth straight undefeated home season and seventh in nine years under Smart. Georgia is 49-4 between the hedges in the Smart era. *Georgia has won 25 straight home games, including 16-0 under Smart. The current evening winning streak at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium began in 2010 with a 42-34 win over Tech.

…Georgia is 37-2 against non-conference teams in the Smart era. The only two losses were against Texas (28:21) in the 2019 Sugar Bowl and 28:27 against Georgia Tech in Athens in his first season in 2016.

…The Bulldogs have won 25 consecutive non-conference games.

…Georgia’s 2024 senior class is 51-4 (45-2 in the regular season) at the top of the FBS since 2021, a school record. The next best record in that span belongs to Michigan at 46-8. Georgia’s 2023 senior class held the previous school record of 50-4 with two national titles, an SEC crown and a 6-0 mark in bowl/CFP games.

…The Bulldogs won their fourth straight SEC Championship Game (SECCG) appearance and seventh overall under Smart. They will face Texas/Texas A&M winners in Atlanta on December 7th.

Georgia’s running backs seeing the most action are Trevor Etienne, Nate Frazier and Cash Jones. Etienne, who has made eight starts but missed the last two games due to injury, has 477 yards (5.0 average) and 7 touchdowns. Frazier made his first start in the win over No. 7 Tennessee and accounted for 68 yards on 19 carries (tied a career high) and a touchdown. Frazier was the first Bulldog freshman tailback since 2014, when Nick Chubb and Sony Michel did.

…Fifth-grader Carson Beck, a 6-4, 220-pound native of Jacksonville, Fla., has a 22-3 record as a starter. Led Georgia to a 13-1 mark in 2023. He is 8-3 against top-20 opponents, with a 66.8 completion percentage (243-364) for 3,118 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions in those contests.

…This year’s matchup marks only the second time in the 118-game history of the Georgia Tech-Georgia rivalry – which dates back to 1893 – that the teams will face each other on a Friday. The previous Friday game was on November 25, 1994 in Athens.

…While Georgia has won 18 of the last 21 meetings in the rivalry, the Yellow Jackets’ most recent success in the series came in Athens, where Tech has won twice in its last four games and three times in its last seven visits.

…The Yellow Jackets face their third top 10 opponent of the season. Tech is 2-0 in its last two matchups against top-10 teams – a 24-21 win over then-No. 10-ranked Florida State in its season opener on Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland 28-23 over then-No. 4 Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 9. The Jackets are one of only 12 unranked teams to beat a top-10 opponent this season and the only unranked team to do so twice.

…With a win on Friday, the Yellow Jackets would become just the second team in Georgia Tech history this season with three wins over top-10 opponents in a season. The 1959 Jackets defeated No. 6 SMU (16-12), No. 6 Clemson (16-6) and No. 8 Tennessee (14-7) in three consecutive weeks – September 26, October 3 and October 10. 1959.

…With seven regular season wins (the most since 2017), Georgia Tech has achieved back-to-back season victories for the first time since 2013 and 2014.

The odds are 19.5 points, and that seems like a lot from the perspective of a betting line like this, because in rivalry games like this the betting lines don’t always mean as much as in a normal game.

While overcoming the spread might prove difficult, Georgia should have enough ammunition to win, but Georgia Tech will make the Bulldogs work. Prediction: Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 20